| Nick & AJ at The Grove August 9, 2004 |
| Debi and I always said that on our next trip to LA we should just camp out at The Grove shopping center because so many celebrities seem to hang out there. If they�d let us pitch a tent, we would! But the next best thing to literally camping out is sitting at the fountain centrally located between the parking garage and the movie theatre. On Saturday we spent the afternoon people watching there and saw 6 random celebrities enjoying their down time. (David Boreanaz, Frankie Muniz, Alicia Silverstone, Melissa Rivers, Mel Harris, and Natalia Livingston) Unfortunately we didn�t get ANY pictures because out of common courtesy we didn�t really want to bother anyone. Monday was our free day with nothing planned, so we spent several hours visiting some Carter hot spots. By the evening we were exhausted and decided to relax and see a movie. The theatre by our hotel wasn�t showing anything we were interested in seeing, so we headed back to The Grove. We bought tickets to see The Village but had an hour to wait until it started, so we went to sit at our favorite spot, the fountain. Not even ten seconds later who walks by but ORLANDO BLOOM with his girlfriend Kate Bosworth. OMG!!! They were walking really fast and headed straight for the movie theatre, so of course we followed them. lol I guess they ordered their tickets in advance because they picked them up from the online ticket machine. Debi made eye contact with both of them and got smiles, but I was too flustered to even look. I could barely breathe! We figured out that they were going to see the 9:05 showing of Collateral because that was the only movie starting within the next half hour. Before heading into their movie, Orlando and Kate made a pit stop at the restrooms, and surprisingly he took longer than she did. lol If Collateral hadn�t been sold out, we probably would have bought tickets so we could watch them watch the movie, but actually that turned out to be a blessing. :-) Excited about seeing Orlando, we went back to the fountain to call a few friends and gush. We were contemplating sneaking into the sold out show when we had an even BETTER celeb encounter, at least from our perspective. I was still shaking from seeing Orlando when I looked up and saw AJ! He was walking towards us from the parking garage with his girlfriend and one other guy. Within 2 seconds I had slapped Debi on the leg, told her I saw AJ, asked her if I should stop him, and (when she immediately said �yes�) jumped up to approach him. As I stepped toward him and said, �AJ?� his phone rang. I backed away saying, �I�m sorry. I�ll let you answer your phone.� He stood in place, opened his phone, and told the person on the other end, �I�m at the pond dum dum,� as he looked back across the fountain. We both turned to see who AJ was looking at and were stunned to see NICK!!! It was like something out of a movie � everything stopped and blurred, and all we could see was the most beautiful blonde man standing just 15 feet away. He was wearing a large white t-shirt and his pants were black with orange stripes on the sides. His hair was flat and messy, very blonde on top and very dark in the back, PRE-shaving thank God or we probably wouldn�t have even recognized him. Debi and I both reacted by just saying, �Nick,� like, �Oh my God I can�t believe this is happening.� AJ and Nick spotted each other, and as Nick approached, AJ turned to talk with us. We both introduced ourselves to AJ and shook his hand; Debi remembers it as being dry and rough but I was too stunned to notice. I told him that we were huge Backstreet fans and that we were really glad they were recording together again. He told us that they had finished recording the new album and were in rehearsals. In fact, he said that they had just come from rehearsal and apologized for his appearance. (he was wearing a baseball cap and a track suit type outfit with a red jacket and dark pants� and NO sunglasses!) Debi told AJ that the fans are really excited for the new cd, and AJ said, �Me too!� She also asked him about a release date, and he told us that (unfortunately) the cd won�t be out until next year but that a single will be released sometime in 2004. When Debi inquired about upcoming tour plans and I mentioned their trip to China next month, AJ said that BSB will be touring the US next year but that they are doing a solo show at the House of Blues in LA on September 12th. We were really excited to hear this news � this was the day before it was known publicly. I told AJ that we were from the Bay Area and visiting LA on vacation but that we might have to come down again to see them in Sept. He told us that we should and that the show was going to be awesome. He also said that he blew out his knee so it would be �interesting� to see what happens in concert. Keep in mind that this whole time Nick was standing off to the side and joking around with the other guy who arrived with AJ. It was very difficult to pay attention to what AJ was saying when I could see Nick out of the corner of my eye. Debi tried to watch Nick as much as possible, but I did my best to maintain eye contact with AJ � his eyes are BEAUTIFUL chocolate brown and he has gorgeous looooong eyelashes. I told AJ that the fans are so happy that he�s healthy, and he again answered, �Me too!� He said that it was all because of �you guys� being so supportive and that the reason BSB is back together is because of the fans. He commented that without us, they would be just a couple of guys sitting on the street. It was awesome to hear how gracious and humble he is. I said that we�ll always support BSB �50 years, 150 percent,� and he said that they really appreciate it. AJ then said that they were on their way to dinner, and I told him that I�d let them go. But Debi�s attention was still completely focused on Nick; she was watching him laugh and be cute. lol Just as it looked like they were going to leave, Debi said, �Hi Nick!� It was like he had been waiting for an invitation to join the conversation because he immediately held out his hand to shake ours. We both remember his hands being very soft and warm. *sigh* Debi also noticed his pimples and spotted the Paris tattoo on his wrist � according to her, �It�s really there and it�s really ugly.� We both introduced ourselves to him and he said, �Nice to meet you.� (he obviously didn�t remember meeting us before lol, SO unlike Aaron) I told Nick that we had been talking with AJ about how excited we are that BSB is recording together again, and he quietly responded, �Thank you.� Then I said that I�d let them enjoy their dinner, and Nick again shook our hands and again said, �Nice to meet you.� He�s a man of few words. lol We watched them walk away, keeping a safe distance but trying to see where they were going. At that point we noticed that there were three other guys walking with them, two of whom were the twin dancers from the B&B tour. They ended up at Marmalade Caf� and sat at a table outside. For the most part we kept our distance, but we did walk past the restaurant once just to check it out. After that we went back to our perch at the fountain hoping that Nick and AJ would pass by again after dinner. In the meantime, Matthew Perry literally danced by us with a female companion who looked like Amanda Peete, but I�m not sure if it was her. It was really cute. We also saw Victor Garber and his family leaving the movie theatre. I�m telling you, the fountain at The Grove is THE place to see celebrities! A little after 10:30 we saw Nick and the entourage (minus AJ and his girlfriend) walking back towards us. We didn�t want to intrude again but hoped that he would acknowledge us. As he approached he was laughing and joking around with the other guys. Then he started picking his nose. lmao GROSS! Just then he made eye contact with us and stared as he walked closer. Debi waved and Nick gave her a peace sign. I said, �Bye Nick,� and he looked at me saying, �Wassup?� as he kept walking. Apparently that means �goodbye� in Carterese. lol Debi watched as Nick and one of the other guys walked to the end of the shopping center and disappeared around the corner. Then we spotted AJ and his girlfriend walking back towards us from the restaurant too. We tried to make eye contact but they were engrossed in a conversation and never looked our way as they headed to the parking garage. No pictures, sorry to disappoint, but we were more consumed with having an actual conversation. Maybe they would have posed for pix if we had asked, but it just didn�t seem like the right time. We decided to hang around a little while longer to see if we could catch Orlando and Kate coming out of the movie theatre at the end of their film. Around 11:15 we saw them walking in our direction to get to the parking garage, so we headed to the garage too. Again they were walking REALLY fast, but for a few seconds they were right next to us. We heard Orlando say something about Michael Mann (the director of Collateral) in his sexy accent. *swoon* For some reason I was focused on his beautiful curly hair, but Debi never took her eyes off his ass (in baggy jeans) as they made their way to their car. There were a few other people following them out of the movie theater, and we all watched as Orlando opened the passenger door of a sporty red Audi so Kate could get in before taking his spot behind the wheel. They sat in the car for a few seconds and glanced at the gathering crowd watching them from a distance, but then they sped off without any further eye contact. With all of the celebrities gone, we called it a night. It all still seems totally surreal. We knew The Grove was a good spot for celebrity sightings, but never in a million years could we have expected to see Nick and AJ, let alone Orlando Bloom! It�s as if we had put in a request with God saying, �Could you send Nick our way?� and BAM it happened. |